Seib & Wessel: Modest Hopes for Budget Talks

10/18/2013 11:20AM

WSJ's Damian Paletta and Peter Nicholas say that while there is now a framework in place for budget negotiations, expectations are low amid disagreement on taxes as well as spending on programs such as Medicare and Social Security. Still, a small deal may be possible.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

the ... a government shutdown government reopens ... debt ceiling set aside ... this passes for progress in Washington that ... doesn't add up to anything in the next couple months that will be worth the grief that in just one lot when there is a process that can place now finally get a painting process to get a real punch that's right Patty Murray and Paul Ryan or it may have breakfast and continue meeting ... the twenty nine lawmakers on this coffers committee in the know what their goal is to get ... spending levels in line for twenty fourteen so that we have the next deadline of January fifteen ... they can in oh nine had another shutdown easier said than done and I say expectations are pretty low at this point ... that enabled it to complete issues that they've been to so to buy time for several years and in a low because the the basics haven't changed your that's right Democrats want tax increases Republicans though Republicans want the changes ... to Medicare Medicaid and Democrats in no way so ... that you know after the passage of bidding for better food fight over the last three weeks ... is hard to see them ... you know cutting big deals not with you knowing that ... you know one thing that strikes me is that this is ... this the question is what passes for progress from Washington ... near Fargo lawmakers are having breakfast is considered events on the positive development ... I mean aam McAllen re read her Vivus and that he was talking to Mitch McConnell ... and the public should take some solace in that so we are we're measuring progress to the fact that people are talking ... is not what the minimum we should expect ... in the Harry Reid has put out to be talking to each other several times a day that the two leaders of the said ... this should not be ... the stock market is moving in fact they had a private conversation this week about the shutdown so ... I wouldnt I'd say this progress and assassins ... maybe maybe things are ... well the thing that changes Republicans are not going to have a let's shut down the government moment again for any time in the near future so that changes the band dynamic a little bit ... and there's that there's a deal to be done you know you you ... the Republicans give a little bit more Democrats on discretionary spending Democrats ... agreed to with Republicans that dissension be cut as much as the sequester the automatic cuts that are to roll into effect next year would require ... the Democrats do a little bit on entitlements and Republicans say well may will start some tax reform that maybe generates a little more tax revenue that ... illogical world ... that deal ... the logical world ... it was there to be done yet what we learned about this process was like with the Susan Collins group there are groups of people ... that will be better really frustrated the status quo in ... you know maybe get a critical mass of people like that to lead to a huge deal but to get something ... the key in the census critical mass ... we restore are coming out tomorrow that says Susan Combs group those efforts were shot down by the White House and you know that ... that that was her fault and it rocks ... and you know we've heard other stories bout that during this crisis that the on the number of my person groups or trying to meet on four steals